Soups - Page 3

Digging4Truth · #21 03-05-2007, 06:29 AM

First thing brother... you spelled it right. (I did not) When I was typing out the recipe I kept staring at my spelling of Roux and it just didn't look right.

Secondly... thanks for posting this. Not everyone is familiar with Roux and it is a pivotal part of a good gumbo.

I have been buying Roux in a bottle for a while now and I really can't tell the difference. It is much easier not having to make the Roux yourself but I was always fascinated by how hot the roux was when you put it in the gumbo. The gumby may be at full boil but when you are making our own roux and you take a spoonful of roux and slowly put it in the pot of boiling gumbo that roux would boil like a piece of red hot metal.

Anyway... thanks again for posting this.

Johnny · #22 03-05-2007, 06:50 AM

"Soup" is the understatement of the century. Gumbo is the Rolls-Royce of soups, and many of New Orleans' soups, gumbos and bisques are works of art.

Esther · #23 03-05-2007, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny

Make a Roux
Roux, the start of many great creole dishes.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 vegetable oil, butter, fat, or lard

INSTRUCTIONS:
A roux is nothing more than flour and fat. The more delicious the fat, the better the roux. For example, duck fat or lard will impart more flavor than vegetable oil (but will be less healthy).
A heavy pot or cast-iron skillet is best for making a beautiful roux. Heat the oil and stir in enough flour to make the consistency of wet sand. For best results, a roux is cooked over low heat and stirred every 15 minutes until it's the desired color (like a copper penny).
You can cook a roux at a higher temperature, but watch carefully--it burns easily. Once it turns a dark golden color, you've got seconds to get it just a wee bit darker; there's a fine line between ready and burned.
For a lower-fat gumbo, you can use a "dry" roux, which is nothing more than flour that's been toasted in an oven until it's reached the desired color (a golden brown). The dry roux is then whisked into a liquid slurry, and the lumps are smoothed out before it's added to the broth.
From the base of either a "wet" or "dry" roux, you can create hundreds of versions by adding fresh herbs and vegetables (corn, potatoes, beans, eggplant, cabbage, squash...). Most seafood can be used (but add delicate oysters and crabmeat at the end, so they won't toughen and/or disintegrate), as well as most kinds of beef.

I have always stirred mine constantly, in fear of it sticking and burning.

Digging4Truth · #24 03-05-2007, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esther

I have always stirred mine constantly, in fear of it sticking and burning.

WOAH....I didn't notice that part... You DEFINITELY have to stir a roux constantly once it begins to brown.

So true.

If ANYONE leaves roux for only one fifteen minute period then it is over and burnt.

Esther · #25 03-05-2007, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Digging4Truth

First thing brother... you spelled it right. (I did not) When I was typing out the recipe I kept staring at my spelling of Roux and it just didn't look right.

Secondly... thanks for posting this. Not everyone is familiar with Roux and it is a pivotal part of a good gumbo.

I have been buying Roux in a bottle for a while now and I really can't tell the difference. It is much easier not having to make the Roux yourself but I was always fascinated by how hot the roux was when you put it in the gumbo. The gumby may be at full boil but when you are making our own roux and you take a spoonful of roux and slowly put it in the pot of boiling gumbo that roux would boil like a piece of red hot metal.

Anyway... thanks again for posting this.

What brand do you use? Also is it a liquid?

I found some once that was a paste. It was rather hard to use.

Digging4Truth · #26 03-05-2007, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esther

What brand do you use? Also is it a liquid?

I found some once that was a paste. It was rather hard to use.

I use Savoie's

Definitely not a liquid.

It is a little hard to get out of the jar but once you get it out and into a hot gumbo it melts away quickly.

MissBrattified · #27 03-05-2007, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny

Make a Roux
Roux, the start of many great creole dishes.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 vegetable oil, butter, fat, or lard

INSTRUCTIONS:
A roux is nothing more than flour and fat. The more delicious the fat, the better the roux. For example, duck fat or lard will impart more flavor than vegetable oil (but will be less healthy).
A heavy pot or cast-iron skillet is best for making a beautiful roux. Heat the oil and stir in enough flour to make the consistency of wet sand. For best results, a roux is cooked over low heat and stirred every 15 minutes until it's the desired color (like a copper penny).
You can cook a roux at a higher temperature, but watch carefully--it burns easily. Once it turns a dark golden color, you've got seconds to get it just a wee bit darker; there's a fine line between ready and burned.
For a lower-fat gumbo, you can use a "dry" roux, which is nothing more than flour that's been toasted in an oven until it's reached the desired color (a golden brown). The dry roux is then whisked into a liquid slurry, and the lumps are smoothed out before it's added to the broth.
From the base of either a "wet" or "dry" roux, you can create hundreds of versions by adding fresh herbs and vegetables (corn, potatoes, beans, eggplant, cabbage, squash...). Most seafood can be used (but add delicate oysters and crabmeat at the end, so they won't toughen and/or disintegrate), as well as most kinds of beef.

Good post! But...I recently made my first good roux (that didn't burn, scorch or otherwise self-implode), and I stirred it almost constantly....(out of fear that I would ruin it yet again) In the past I've used the roux in a jar (don't remember the brand), but it's hard to find around here!

I like a darker roux...more the color of chocolate.

Felicity · #28 03-05-2007, 09:02 AM

Seafood Chowder

2 c. water
3 chopped onions
2 tbsp. butter
6-8 potatoes
4 carrots
1 large mushroom soup
1 tin canned milk
1/2 qt. canned milk
1 pkg. haddock

Saute onion in butter just till transparent. Cook veggies in boiling water until tender. Add onion, soup, milk and fish and simmer gently until fish is cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I usually use a combination of haddock, scallops, and lobster. You can use what you like but it's good with just the fish. You could also use cod or salmon.

Any time I've made this it's always enjoyed -- if people like fish/seafood. Not everyone does of course.

Esther · #29 03-05-2007, 01:12 PM

Does anyone have a recipe for lobster/crawfish/shrimp bisque that is a white cream sauce?

Felicity · #30 03-05-2007, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esther

Does anyone have a recipe for lobster/crawfish/shrimp bisque that is a white cream sauce?

I had a wonderful one at one of our saint's homes a couple years ago. They had brought in 70 absolutely fresh lobster and had one of those propane burner type deals where they cooked them all at once - they set the timer and they turned out absolutely perfect. They were wonderful!!! The best lobster I've eaten since I was a kid. Honest!

Anyhow she made a bisque that was basically just heavy cream and butter with the lobster added. There may have been something else in the recipe to thicken the sauce a little - not sure - but that was basically it. She served it in a chafing dish along with all the cooked lobster.

There were about 12 of us for supper. One of the men ate 7 lobsters! TB had 3. I had 1 1/2.

She had fresh melted butter, salads, and then a dessert buffet afterward. Absolutely delicious!!